Eve Samples, a local news columnist based in Martin County, met Major James Pollock in spring of 2011, when he was working at a walk-in clinic in Stuart. She has been interviewing him on and off for more than a year and spent the past several months researching problems wounded veterans face. To share your feedback, email eve.samples@scripps.com.

Broke and grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder after two deployments to Iraq, Major James Pollock turned to one of the biggest names among veterans charities.

The decorated Air Force doctor had a simple request when he called Wounded Warrior Project after his 2008 discharge:

Please help me pay my bills.

Pollock was thrust into the civilian world by his combat-related disabilities and unable to work because of them.

The $1,800 a month he received on the military's Temporary Disability Retired List was not enough to cover his basic expenses, which included hefty student loans.

The former Stuart resident spent several weeks in early 2009 living in a tent, desperate for money.

Wounded Warrior Project would not provide it.

The charity — which reported revenue of $74.1 million last year — politely referred Pollock elsewhere.

"Our philosophy is we would rather provide the tools so they can take care of those things on their own," said Ayla Hay, executive vice president of communications for Wounded Warrior Project.

Known for its celebrity spokespeople and cable television commercials, the Jacksonville-based charity offers 18 different programs for post-9/11 era combat-injured veterans. They range from outdoor retreats to job-placement services. Wounded Warrior Project also has a "benefits team" that works with veterans to ensure they get the help they are entitled to.

But it does not provide financial aid for wounded warriors who cannot pay their bills, Hay confirmed. That is not part of the nonprofit's mission.

The many veterans who call Wounded Warrior Project looking for such help are referred to other charities, often smaller organizations with more limited resources.

"I believe people should pick themselves up, go to school, get a job," Pollock said. "But there are times when a person needs a safety net, and 2009 is when I needed it."

INCOME TO SURVIVE

Peggy Baker often gets calls from injured veterans who have been referred to her by Wounded Warrior Project for help.

The Army mom started her Virginia-based charity, Operation First Response, in 2004 after realizing how many injured troops and their families were struggling with money upon return to civilian life.

"There's times when there's no income or very little income to survive," Baker said.

Operation First Response now provides emergency financial aid to roughly 1,000 injured veterans a year. Its revenue last year was about $753,365.

"We are approached by mountains more," Baker said.

She gives them grants to help cover rent, utilities, groceries and other living expenses.

When Pollock received a grant from Operation First Response in 2009, it was a turning point.

He had to wait more than a year after his discharge to receive disability benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration. The Air Force and other branches of the military offer transition assistance programs, but Pollock was not finding the help he needed.

It was Operation First Response and the Air Force Aid Society — both of which bring in a fraction of the donations that Wounded Warrior Project attracts — that helped him get by.

He received about $9,000 from the two nonprofits over the course of several months, Pollock recalled.

The money was a path to stability. It allowed him to move back to Stuart in 2010 and relaunch his medical career after he was cleared to return to work part-time.

Pollock believes such support should be easier to come by — especially for veterans of lower ranks who would receive less than him in temporary disability retirement pay. The typical staff sergeant would have a much more difficult time.

"I was a single man with no kids ... and I was a major," said Pollock, who married last year.

A 'D' RATING

Of the $74.1 million in revenue Wounded Warrior Project generated last year (most of it from donations), $13.8 million was spent on fundraising, according to IRS documents.

The charity's financial practices earned it a "D" grade from CharityWatch, an independent organization that rates and evaluates nonprofits.

According to CharityWatch's calculations, only 43 percent of Wounded Warrior Project's annual spending went for programs — not including direct mail, telemarketing and other solicitation costs.

Accounting rules let charities count those costs as "program services" if they also serve an educational purpose — for example, by including a line on a direct mail piece that encourages donors to write their congressmen. But nonprofit watchdogs tend to be skeptical of the practice.

"These are nice things, but it's not what people are thinking of funding when they give to a veterans charity," said Daniel Borochoff, president of CharityWatch.

The picture improves for Wounded Warrior Project if such solicitation costs are included. Then, it jumps to 63 percent of spending — still not near the 75 percent that CharityWatch considers "highly efficient."

Wounded Warrior Project points out it is more favorably viewed by the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, which calculates that 82 percent of the charity's money goes to programs. But the BBB includes money used for "public awareness" in its estimation of program costs.

"The truth is that the systems for grading charities are all valuable," Hay said, "but they're all different."

A VITAL BRIDGE

Some combat-wounded veterans get their permanent disability ratings quickly, so full benefits roll in without much of a lag.

But it's often more complicated for veterans such as Pollock who have invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Nonprofit assistance becomes vital to bridge the gap.

Because the severity of his disabilities might change, Pollock remains on the military's Temporary Disability Retired List, an uncertain classification that can drag on for up to five years.

He is pushing for better support for combat-injured veterans during the first six months after they are discharged, both from the military and Wounded Warrior Project.

"That's the most critical time — when people commit suicide, have problems and can't even afford a lawyer to help them," Pollock said.

During a speech in June, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pointed to financial distress as a factor contributing to the rising rate of veteran suicides. Among active-duty troops, the suicide rate is about one a day. Among veterans of all wars, it is about 18 a day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"We've just chosen to go in a different direction. We take a holistic approach to the programs and services we offer," Hay said. "We want to make sure the warrior is healed in their spirit and certainly any physical injuries they have."

Basic financial aid for injured veterans, she said, "isn't one of the programs where we have deemed to be the greatest need."

MONOPOLY ON WOUNDED WARRIORS?

Although Wounded Warrior Project does not offer bill-paying help to injured veterans, it is considering making grants to charities that do.

This spring, Operation First Response received initial approval for a $100,000 grant from Wounded Warrior Project.

At first, Baker was thrilled. Then she read the conditions.

To receive the $100,000, Wounded Warrior Project required that her charity "cease use of the term 'Wounded Warrior' in any program name or title." That included removing it from any printed materials or website meta tags, which are labels used by Internet search engines to direct traffic.

"We just couldn't go along with it," Baker said.

The term wounded warrior is part of the vernacular for this generation of veterans. People looking for aid or wanting to donate would be likely to type in those key words online.

"If I can't have that in the meta tags of my website, I'm not going to come up on any searches," Baker said.

One of her main programs is called the Wounded Warrior Financial Assistance Program. Accepting the grant would have meant changing the name and printing new materials — money she believes should be spent on aid for injured veterans.

"That makes no sense to me at all," Baker said. "I don't think anybody should have the monopoly on the phrase wounded warriors."

It was not easy for her to walk away from the cash.

"When you're struggling for funds and you're listening to what we're listening to — these guys and these girls on the phone every day — turning down any money is a real struggle," she said.

Hay confirmed that Wounded Warrior Project took grant applications for nonprofits wanting to provide direct financial aid, but said it did not award any grants in its first round.

"We do consider proposals for financial assistance and are reviewing several in our second round," Hay said.

'BASIC NEEDS NEED TO BE MET FIRST'

Pollock hopes Wounded Warrior Project will reconsider its stance on bill-paying aid. As his own life has become more stable, he has started crusading for reforms that will help the next generation of veterans.

Wounded Warrior Project is one of the most visible veterans charities in the country, and it has the power to make life better for combat-injured troops who are at their lowest financial point, Pollock said.

He sees merits in some of the charity's existing programs, including its widely publicized outdoor adventures. But he hopes Wounded Warrior Project executives realize some veterans are falling apart financially while the organization offers fishing trips and surf camps for others.

The problem is not going away. An estimated 900,000 veterans are waiting on benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Through Operation First Response, Baker will help put out the fires for some of those veterans. She will help them pay the rent after an eviction notice arrives, or cover the power bill after the lights go out.

But there are far more cases than her charity and others like it can handle.

"Basic needs need to be met first," Baker said.

Maj. James Pollock

Age: 43

Professional history: Family practice doctor with osteopathic medicine degree from Oklahoma State University. On staff at Martin Medical Center from 1999-2003 and from January to May 2011.

Military history: Entered the Air Force in 2004; deployed to the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, from fall 2005 to early 2006; deployed to Iraq in 2008 with a special operations team.

Post-military life: Honorably discharged from the military in December 2008 because of PTSD and depression. Placed on the Temporary Disability Retired List, where he remains on today.